This proposal is submitted to seek support to help organize and conduct the Gordon Research Conference on Biomineralization. This International conference will be held August 13-18, 2000 and in 2002 at the Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire. This meeting is a continuation of the Gordon Research Conference on Calcium Phosphates (previously held on alternate years since 1979), organized in a new direction. The biomineralization conference will emphasize the physical chemistry of mineralization in both biological and industrial systems and the relevant properties of mineralized tissues and synthetic prototypes. This conference will also address fundamental aspects of research in areas where such knowledge can be used to produce new and useful synthetic biomaterials for orthopedic and dental applications. This conference is specifically designed to bring together chemists, physicists, biologists, mineralogists, dentists, and physicians, to facilitate further advances in these important areas of study. The biomineralization conference will address the current state of knowledge regarding the mechanism of controlled nucleation and growth of calcium phosphates and related biomaterials in both biological systems and in industrial applications, addressing fundamental research in biomineralization, urolithiasis, and implantology. Session topics will include: 1) regulation of crystal nucleation; 2) regulation of crystal growth in biological systems: bone and cartilage; 3) regulation of crystal growth in biological systems: invertabrates; 4) regulation of crystal growth in biological systems: dental tissues; 5) mineralization at non-skeletal sites (oxalates and calcium phosphates); 6) improving on nature: biomimetics; 7) improving on nature: engineering new implant materials; 8) new strategies for mapping biomineralization; 9) strategies for capturing information in mineralized tissues. Unlike other conferences, this conference will provide a unique forum where investigators in the physical sciences will actively interact with their counterparts in biological research.